Winter Looms, But Fall Brings Its Own Rewards

Autumn Is Greeted With Mixed Reviews

September 22, 1991|By VIVIAN LOUIE ; Courant Staff Writer

C Stunning blue sky and a slight chill heralded autumn Saturday as residents enjoyed the last weekend of summer.

From roadside apple stands to ripening pumpkins, the season's end was evident everywhere. Shorts and T-shirts gave way to the rich variety of fall fashion: rain slickers, quilted jackets, jean jackets, leather jackets.

Autumn officially begins Monday.

"Fall? You have to start thinking about Christmas. After September, the months go by so fast, and soon it is Christmas," said Beryl Smith of Windsor. "The days are shorter, the nights are longer, and you are going home in the dark from work." Smith, dressed for nippy winds in a tan trench coat and thick gray cotton socks, said she planned to begin Christmas shopping this weekend. But on Saturday she milled about the Northwest Park Country Fair with her niece Ashley Henderson, who had her own thoughts about autumn.

"It means it is going to start getting boring except when snow comes. It means there is no more staying up late on weekdays and no more staying up every day," said 9-year-old Ashley, who brightened at another thought. "I like going shopping for school. That is probably the only thing -- oh, and I like Christmas and Thanksgiving." "Generally, we are not too happy with the end of summer," said Ron Williams of Windsor, who attended the fair with his wife and son. "Hot weather is better than snow." For others, however, autumn was long enough in coming.

"We were vacationing in Cape Cod when Hurricane Bob hit," said Maria King, of Ellington, who spent the afternoon at a South Windsor craft fair. "We saw the roof of the hotel next to us fly off. It has been an exciting summer, but we are ready to say goodbye to it." Louise Poulin of Bolton said she will miss summer and the chance to use her new pool -- but not too much.

"We have a hot tub part, and we are going to use that part all fall," she said, laughing. "Today is fantastic -- it is a perfect day. You get sick of it being humid." The change in seasons also provoked some ambivalence.

"It is kind of sad to see the summer go," said Pat Auten, of

Windsor.

"But it is wonderful to see the fall come in -- the fairs, the apples, soccer," said her friend Lorraine Schoenwolff, of Windsor.

Standing by his mother, 11-year-old Danny Auten said he has to give up the summer paper route he shared with his brother. The boy already regards the $35 weekly salary with nostalgia. But schoolwork is more important, his mother said.

Then there are those who say the divisions of the year are arbitrary.

"Golf. Every season means golf. In winter, you'd go to Florida," said Clayton Adams. The Bolton senior citizen joined friends for a Lion's International Club gathering at Bolton's Herrick Memorial Park.

"Don't forget all the leaves that fall on our house and yard, and you have to clean them," Adams added.

"In our gutter, too," said Don Freeman of Vernon.

Adams' wife, Peggy, brushed those concerns aside.

"For senior citizens, every season is good because we have so few left," she said.

A short distance away, Pat Tyler sat at a picnic table, watching children romp on the swings.

"I actually find it entertaining how people base how they feel on the weather -- as if the weather is going to decide how good they are going to feel about themselves," she said. "Most New Englanders -- no matter what they say -- have to at some level enjoy [the seasons], or they'd move somewhere else."